The History Mystery and Whispering Seeds

The Three Sisters method will be employed. This town is called Kiowa after all and the soil belonged to tribes. Smoke Signals will be planted in the far center garden bed. The rows will look over the rest of the garden beds, standing proud of their heritage. Their multi-colored, brilliant ears will provide delicious popcorn. How many American Indian ladies planted this same corn? And the Black Aztec will be in the next bed to try my hand at making blue cornmeal. Did my great, great grandmother use the same varietal? And the Golden Bantam, the original sweet corn, will adorn the other side. Ancient seeds carried in covered wagons and in pouches.

So many choices! Buy organic seeds? Or conventional seeds? For me the clear choice as a history buff with too much imagination are heirlooms. Who doesn’t want pink and brown pumpkins scrambling around their Aztec corn? The colors excite me. The histories enthrall me and I feel connected to every farmer, every family before me who fed their family using these seeds.

Heirlooms are an important part of sustainability. They are not genetically modified. They are pollinated by bees and birds and butterflies and the seeds can be saved so that my great, great grandchild will wonder who I was but know that I planted orange watermelons and that I may have been a little eccentric thanks to the multicolored beans I saved. And heirlooms whisper about history.

Imagine perusing a seed catalogue of seeds that are ancient! Like the seeds that were just recently rediscovered. These Morning Glories are not your typical shape but frilly raspberry colored petals. I cannot wait to see them scrambling up the trellis. Purple carrots will taste so much better than orange ones. I do love to choose the prettiest colored vegetables, many that had to grow in this climate so they ripen early. I plan on watering this year (whoops) so I do plan to have the most beautiful and productive garden I have ever had. And walking through it will be like walking through a history book of covered wagons and pioneers, strong willed women and gracious, hard working men who fed their families using these very seeds that I will feed my family with.

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Farmgirl school is my long time blog about all things homesteading and simple living. From canning, to celebrating the old agricultural holidays, to making wine, to chasing chickens, we live in the moment and savor the good life on our urban farm. My husband and I live in a 93 year old adobe farmhouse in Pueblo, Colorado with several cats, chickens, and a farm dog puppy. My daughter and I own White Wolf Medicine, a traditional herbal pharmacy. All of my books can be found on Amazon at http://Amazon.com/author/katiesanders